Many Canadians don’t research car insurance options: survey

 Only 47% of Canadians say they research car insurance options before purchasing.

A survey from Ipsos, commissioned by LowestRates.ca, finds that consumers are more likely to conduct online research regarding travel products than  financial products, including car insurance. This lack of analysis and comparison results in Canadians overspending on financial products.

“The massive gulf between Canadians who compare travel options and financial products is disappointing, because the latter is where you save real money,” says Justin Thouin, the CEO of LowestRates.ca in a press release. “Sure, you can shave hundreds of dollars off your flight by using comparison sites, but taking the time to compare auto insurance or mortgages saves many of our users thousands of dollars a year — and those savings add up over decades.”

Related: Canadians would give up bad driving habits for a reward: survey

Less than half (47%) of survey respondents say they research car insurance options while 45% research credit cards and 60% research mortgages – which LowestRates.ca says is “concerning as getting a mortgage is often the largest financial decision they ever will make.”

As well, when renewing mortgages, only 42% of respondents say they compared options online. Paying an extra 1% on a $1,000,000 mortgage can cost Canadians $10,000 per year, says the press release.

The province of Alberta has the most Canadians using comparison websites to research financial products at 45%, which is followed by Ontario at 41%. British Columbians are least likely to engage in digital research with 31% saying they go online to learn more about different financial products.

Related: Newfoundland and Labrador government goes ahead with auto insurance review

Canadians are more likely to research travel products online with 60% saying they use comparison websites to book flights and 63% saying the same for hotels.

A common factor between Canadians who research financial products and travel products online is that the age group with the highest adoption is millennials. More than half of millennials (52%) research car insurance options compared to only 36% of baby boomers; 67% of millennials also use websites to compare flights while 56% of baby boomers do the same.

Ipsos conducted the survey online between July 17 and July 19, 2017 using a sample of 2,002 adult Canadians.

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.